


Fear of The Unknown

by TerrifiedAristocrat



Category: AFK Arena (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Ferael Is An Actual Gremlin, M/M, Modern AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vedan Is A Good Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 11:35:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19272463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerrifiedAristocrat/pseuds/TerrifiedAristocrat
Summary: Angelo spends a night in a house full of Graveborn, who try their best to fray each of Angelo’s nerves. Estrilda is Decidedly Unimpressed.





	Fear of The Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> Some Notes before we start:  
> This is sort of a modern AU in the sense that there’s technology (smartphones, electricity, ect). Most everything here is headcanon and silliness.   
> The rating is Mature since there is an implication of sex acts. Will I actually write the specifics? Who knows.  
> Please enjoy!

Angelo rolled on his stomach and buried his face into a pillow that most definitely was not his own.

He knew this first by the smell- Angelo’s sheets smelled like roses most of the time and these definitely did not. They had more of a cotton-y smell with an undernote of musk and vetiver, something that made Angelo rumble low in his throat as he buried his face into them. Angelo sighed softly, reveling in the gentle ache that ran through his body. Some spots hurt more than others- his inner thigh, for one, and the right side of his neck- but Angelo found himself not minding the pains. As Angelo found the previous night, a little pain wasn’t a bad thing.

Angelo tried to lift his head but a wave of dizziness hit him and he sighed softly, settling back into bed. It looked like he was heading nowhere for a bit, so he may as well enjoy himself here. He yawned and stretched out as luxuriously as Harry did, about to slip back into a hazy slumber when he heard something odd in the room. Frowning, Angelo peeked to his left side and saw a figure lurching through Vedan’s room with the kind of deliberation of something not entirely human. It had something long in its arm- a sword perhaps? No, longer, probably a spear. The faint tell-tale glow of green eyes sealed it- Angelo jumped up, shrieking in an undignified manner as he scrambled for his lute to defend himself. Not finding his trusty implement where he usually kept it (right, he wasn’t in his own room) Angelo groped around for something to throw at the invader- his boxers had to do. Angelo flung them with surprising accuracy and internally cheered at his success. Before Angelo could disentangle himself from the duvet he was previously bundled in, a cool arm wrapped around his waist and pinned him to the mattress roughly.

“What are you doing?” Vedan’s soft voice hissed right in Angelo’s ear, making him shudder pleasantly even in such a dangerous situation.

“There’s. Zombie. In your room.” Angelo managed to explain the situation in such eloquence only befitting a famed musician such as himself.

“It is too early to be making so much noise,” Vedan grumbled, peering over Angelo’s shoulder at the intruder in the room. “Ah. That is the butler,”

“Butler?” Angelo repeated stupidly.

“Mm,” Vedan confirmed, settling back down behind Angelo. “I’m going back to sleep.” 

Angelo stared dazedly at the undead constructed shuffling around the room with what Angelo now realized was a feather duster and did his best to relax in Vedan’s bed. A zombie butler, of course. What else was Angelo expecting, really?

He stayed awake until the butler left.

Vampires were okay. Liches, Angelo could deal with. He had no idea what Vedan’s twin girls were and frankly did not care at this point. But zombies still freaked Angelo out beyond any rational explanation. He had to do some breathing exercises to get his pulse under control, something made more difficult by Vedan with his stupid arm around Angelo’s stupid stomach and smelling stupid good and ugh-

Angelo managed to wriggle out of Vedan’s grip and stumbled to the bathroom to gather his thoughts. He stared at himself in the mirror and groaned quietly- while they definitely bathed after the evening’s activities, Angelo was sure he was too tired (and light headed) to comb his hair properly and now it was a mess. Angelo scanned the bathroom for a brush and sat down on the toilet, carefully beginning to undo the snarls he’d left in his hair.

By the time Angelo’s hair was brushed out, he was no longer tired. He was, however, parched and hungry. He quietly walked back into Vedan’s room and hunted around for his clothes, dressing himself and stepping out into the drafty halls of the manor. Faint firelight flickered in sconces on the walls, providing just enough light to see but not much beyond that. Angelo actually winced when he got to a window- bright sunlight streamed in through the cracks of heavy drapes, providing much more lighting than Angelo had been used to. For a moment Angelo rubbed his tearing eyes and enjoyed the feeling of heat against his skin before his stomach reminded him of other, more pressing matters.

Angelo honestly wasn’t sure if Vedan had a functional kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find it- what he wasn’t happy about though was the cloaked figure standing in front of the refrigerator, its inner light illuminating a tattered cloak, two long and curved horns, and lanky features. Shadows seemed to cling to him like needy children.The figure turned sharply, a hood over their face and what looked like a whole ginger root crammed into their mouth.

“What the-”

“Who are you?” Ferael hissed, managing to enunciate even with the bulky chunk of ginger in his mouth. Angelo stared at him flatly.

“Isn’t it... the middle of the night for you?” he asked. “Is that ginger root?”

“I ask the questions here!” Ferael bit the ginger root in half and chewed aggressively, swallowing before reaching for the (ostentatious) bow strapped to his back. Angelo raised his hands slowly to demonstrate he was no threat.

“I’m Angelo, remember? I helped you get that embalming oil last week,” Angelo explained. Ferael blinked at Angelo for a moment, before understanding lit up his face and he nodded.

“Ah yes, I remember you. As I recall, you refused to help oil me,” Ferael remarked with all the grace of an offended cat.

“Yeah well, I’m dating someone so it didn’t feel right,” Angelo explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Who?” Ferael demanded. “Surely they are not more beautiful than I am,” Ho boy. Angelo’s mind raced to figure out a diplomatic way of saying ‘no, Vedan is ten times hotter than you fuck off’. “Oh! It’s that swordsman, what’s his name... Thane?”

“Dura no,” Angelo shook his head, shivering. “He’s my best friend’s uncle! And married, I should add,”

“Yes, well Lightbringers are-”

“Ferael, what the hell are you doing?” another voice bit in as Silvina seemed to melt out of the shadows, landing in between Ferael and Angelo with her arms folded and wearing the cutest lilac nightgown (complete with bats embroidered on it).

“Eating,” Ferael replied, waving the half-bitten ginger root. “Interrogating the bard here,” Angelo didn’t like the way Ferael sneered the word ‘bard’ and narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, you mean papa’s date?” Silvina asked.

“He’s dating papa- I mean your papa- I mean, fuck. Vedan,” Ferael stumbled over his words and Angelo couldn’t help but smirk.

“Language. There’s a little one here,” he chided Ferael.

“She kills people!” Ferael hissed. Silvina shrugged.

“So? Vedan will kill whoever teaches his girls to swear and it’s not gonna be me,” Angelo pointed out. Besides, he was teaching them how to swear in Spanish and that didn’t count because as far as Angelo knew, Vedan did not know Spanish.

“Vedan will kill you when he gets bored of you,” Ferael grumbled, kicking the fridge closed and stomping off.

“Your disses suck and you should feel bad!” Angelo called after Ferael cheerily, glancing down at Silvina who was watching Ferael with the same kind of look she gave potential targets. “Young lady, isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isabella had a nightmare,” Silvina explained. “I was gonna go wake Papa but... could you help?”

“Mm, sure,” Angelo nodded. He liked kids a lot, Isabella included. He opened the fridge and peeked inside- there was an ungodly amount of apple juice in there, and Angelo wasn’t about to ask. He did spot a carton of milk and opened it up to sniff it- it still smelled good- before nudging the refrigerator closed and walking over to the stove and flicking on the overhead light. Now able to see properly, Angelo searched the room for a saucepan and began heating the milk in it, stirring constantly and humming under his breath.

“What are you doing?” Silvina asked.

“Making hot cocoa,” he explained. “That’s what my mom did for me when I had nightmares,” Angelo paused. “Isabella can have milk, right?”

“Yes, she can,” Silvina nodded, hopping up on the counter next to the stove and watching Angelo work. “Ferael is wrong, by the way,”

“Hm,” Angelo hummed noncommittally. “I know. He’s just saying things to upset me,”

“Papa won’t kill you. And if he does, Isabella will bring you back,” Silvina assured Angelo. Privately, Angelo would prefer not to be resurrected as a lich but he knew at this point, he had no say in the matter. So instead of arguing, Angelo stirred the milk for a moment, stopping only to dash over to his bag and pull out a small package of melting chocolate to flavor the drink.

The two of them stood in a comfortable silence until Angelo heard his phone buzz from his bag. 

Silvina was faster than Angelo and dashed over to grab the phone and answer it, impatience emanating from her sharp “Hello? No, this is not. I am the Taken Breath, Silvina. He is occupied-”

“Who is it?” Angelo called over his shoulder. Silvina paused for a moment.

“The horse lesbian,” she explained. Angelo choked on his own spit and coughed, accidentally splashing some milk into the flames of the stove. “Would you like to talk to her?”

“I should,” Angelo sighed, gaining control of his laughter and stirring. Silvina handed him the phone primly. “Hey Estrilda-”

“Where in the hell are you?” Estrilda demanded.

“Uh, out,” Angelo replied.

“With the Tiny Murder Machine?” Estrilda asked. “Isn’t it like, three in the morning for Graveborn?”

 “It is,” Angelo agreed. “I’m making Miss Isabella some hot cocoa,”

“And why, pray tell, are you making the creepy Graveborn twins hot cocoa when you should be helping me plan Dad’s welcome party?” Estrilda asked with an infinite amount of patience in her voice. Angelo glanced down at the hot milk and carefully lowered the chocolate in, watching the milk darken and enjoying the scent of melting chocolate.

“I got distracted,” he admitted. “I’m sorry Estrilda, I’ll make it up to you-”

“You got distracted- how did you get distracted? Graveborn scare you,” Estrilda pointed out.

“Um,” Angelo paused, not quite sure how to explain to Estrilda (‘it’s actually a turn on you know’) with Silvina sitting right there, watching him with wide green eyes. “It’s complicated. Can I call you back? The cocoa is done,”

“Oh Dura, it’s Vedan isn’t it,” Estrilda said abruptly. “Vampires freak you out as much as zombies do!”

“I told you, I’ll explain later-”

“Did you fuck him? Or did he fuck you?” Estrilda asked bluntly, making Angelo choke again- he’d forgotten how foul-mouthed Estrilda could be when she wanted to be.

“Little bit of both gotta go bye,” Angelo hung up on her rapidly, shoving his phone into the pocket of his pants and turning to Silvina. “So. Got any mugs?”

“Yes,” Silvina stood on the counter and pulled out what once was a unicorn mug, now painted black with red eyes.

"Nice mug," Angelo remarked genuinely.

"Thank you. Auntie Shemira made it for us shortly after Papa adopted us," Silvina explained.

"That's Awesome," Angelo told her. “Get one for yourself too, I made enough for two,” Silvina stared up at him and a soft smile broke out on her face, much nicer than the sharp and twisted ones she wore while killing. She pulled out a more plain mug and Angelo filled both with hot cocoa, rinsing out the saucepan immediately and leaving it in the strainer to dry. “Let’s go see your sister,”

Silvina led Angelo through the dark and twisting halls to a room that bore Isabella’s name in an elegantly carved plaque, nudging the door open with her foot. Angelo realized that even though their mansion was huge, the girls slept in the same room (and the room was across the hall from where he started in Vedan’s quarters)

Isabella sat in the middle of a fluffy four-poster bed that was almost a duplicate of Vedan’s but smaller with emerald colored tulle draping down the sides. Of the toys that surrounded Isabella, all of them had their eyes sewn into x’s, which was creepy but sort of cute. Many of the toys were bat-shaped. 

“Silvina?” Isabella asked softly, no trace of sleepiness in her tone. She was hugging a rabbit toy tightly and Silvina carefully sat at the foot of Isabella’s bed.

“I brought Angelo,” she explained, pointing to Angelo, who waved.

“I made hot cocoa,” He offered Isabella the mug. She took it shyly, tiny hands wrapping around the warm mug. “Careful now, it’s hot,”

“Okay,” Isabella murmured, blowing on the surface before taking a sip.

“Do you wanna talk about your dream?” Angelo asked carefully. Isabella shook her head. “Okay. Do you want me to stay or do you want me to go?”

“Stay,” Isabella said. Silvina shifted so that Angelo could scoot closer, and he did. “Read me a book?”

“Of course,” Angelo glanced around for something to read and Silvina tucked ‘Quantum Necromancy’ into Angelo’s hands. Angelo stared at the dusty book for a moment before cracking it open and flipping to a dog-eared page. “Were you on Chapter Seven?”

“I was,” Isabella nodded. Angelo patted Isabella’s knee and began to read from what seemed like a textbook on transferring souls across dimensions, stumbling over half of the words but doing his best. Angelo was so busy reading he didn’t notice Vedan slip into his daughters’ room until the vampire settled next to Angelo on the bed, leaning over to see what Angelo was reading.

“You mispronounced half of the words,” Vedan pointed out.

“I know,” Angelo sighed, glancing over at Isabella, who was asleep and clutching the empty mug of hot cocoa. Silvina was nested next to Isabella in a way that reminded Angelo a lot of Harry. 

“Sorry I left you alone in bed,”

“I had forgotten about the help in the castle,” Vedan shrugged. “Come back to bed with me,”

“Demanding,” Angelo teased, closing the book and setting it on Isabella’s nightstand. “It almost sounds like you missed me,”

“I did, you fool,” Vedan grumbled, reaching out for the bite on Angelo’s neck and rubbing it fondly. Instead of wincing, Angelo chuckled at the tenderness in the action, butterflies filling his lungs. Vedan’s bedsheets still smelled like vetiver, he had a lanky archer apparently living in his mansion and his terrifying daughters had glow in the dark bats glued to the walls of their room- each one of these little pieces fit paradoxically together to make a home. Angelo grinned, walking back into Vedan’s room.

He could get used to this.


End file.
